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Sportswear is turning into a highly popular style statement and fashion trend. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing, with a CAGR of 6.9 per cent. Sportswear includes items such as yoga pants and active wear.
Although performance sportswear takes the lead in market size, sports-inspired is the category driving growth. Both sports-inspired footwear and apparel are growing at a rapid pace, registering ten per cent and six per cent growth.
In addition to emerging markets such as India and Thailand, core markets such as the United States are also producing significant sports-inspired growth, despite its reputation as a performance-oriented market. Growth in global market for sports and fitness clothing is driven by a growing portion of the population living healthier lifestyles and stronger participation in sports and fitness activities.
Technological developments designed to improve comfort and performance has also led to the growth in sales of sports apparel. As a result, sportswear is turning into a highly popular style statement and fashion trend. To cash in on demand, Lululemon Athletica and 7mesh have formed a partnership to co-create and push the boundaries in advanced technical apparel. RYU Apparel, an urban athletic apparel brand, has been focusing on striking a balanced ratio of apparel sales between men and women at 46 per cent and 54 per cent.
The three-day Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week will be held in Ethiopia from October 3 to 6, 2017. International textile suppliers and buyers are expected to attend the third edition of the biggest textile trade fair in Africa.
A conference running parallel to the trade fair will discuss the themes currently dominating the textile industry. It will focus on becoming particularly relevant to more and more fashion buyers and present new approaches to eco fashion and sustainable solutions. The spotlight will be on various issues, including sustainability, with a particular focus on production, the environment and certifications. A fashion show, trend area and matchmaking platform are just some of the highlights.
International manufacturers of textile machines will also be showcasing new technologies for the African market. Italian textile machine makers will present a range of product innovations. Over the past five years, Italian exports to Ethiopia have increased on an average by 14 per cent annually. Designers will get specific information targeted at them. Experts presentations on international fashion designed in Africa are in line. A trend agency will contribute to future trends in women's, men's and children's clothing.
Ethiopia has launched a plan to promote the industry and exploit several bilateral trade agreements signed with western countries. Moreover the country is experimenting a long period of GDP growth. In this positive economic climate, the demand for machinery by local textile companies has grown significantly.
All in Print will take place in China, October 24 to 28, 2018. This is a trade fair for the Asian and, in particular, Chinese printing sector. Held every two years All in Print is the platform for communicating ideas, offering technological trends and developments and providing key impulses for the Asian sector. Both exhibitors and visitors value the trade fair for its market-oriented, professional and international atmosphere.
Renowned global players such as Windmöller & Hölscher, Baumüller, Kurz, UPG, Riso, Bobst and Ricoh will use the event as a platform to develop their business. All in Print 2018 will focus on intelligent printing and packaging technologies in Asia. The eight exhibit segments, Digital Pre-Press, Comprehensive Printing, Post-Press Converting, Packaging Equipment, Ink and Innovative Materials, Label Industry, Flexo Technology and Innovation Factory will reflect the dynamic market developments.
A new special area for corrugated cardboard and flexible packaging will promote interaction between the printing and packaging industries. With the increase of digitalization, China is developing into a quality-oriented producer. The digital change affecting print and packaging companies has already begun with the increased merging of smart manufacturing and production thereby opening up huge market potential for the digital printing industry (cloud computing, big data, mobile internet technology etc.).
Maharashtra will set up nine textile parks in the northern cotton-growing regions of the state. The aim is to supplement farmers’ income through value-added products. Value addition -- from produce to fiber to fabric to fashion – is expected to help farmers get a good price for cotton. The parks will offer interest subvention subsidy on machinery from 20 to 25 per cent.
A special platform called Maitri brings 18 different departments on one platform. Anybody who wants to invest in the state can make a single presentation to all department heads and expect to get clearances in this platform.
The state has reserved 93 hectares of land in Yavatmal district for setting up a textile park. The park would ensure large scale employment to the youths of the region besides providing better avenues for farmers to garner the maximum benefit.
Basic infrastructure including supply of energy, water and provision for sewerage water treatment plant at the site would be provided. An electricity sub-station would also be set up to cater to the energy requirements of units that come up.
Rising costs in China can help India wrest a major chunk of China’s total textile and apparel market share. To do that India has to cut finance costs, ease land and environment clearances, focus on economies of scale, infrastructure, skill development, technology development and brand promotion.
Maglificio Ripa, selected by Asahi Kasei as a key partner for Roica Feel Good project aimed at presenting the Roica Clean Fit yarn, is going to exhibit its latest innovations at Première Vision in Paris which begins from tomorrow September 19 and goes up to 21.
Clean Fit is going to be added to a range of Roica products such as Roica Eco Smart family and Roica Color Perfect family. Roica with its Roica Eco Smart family of yarns has been selected by Première Vision to be a smart ambassador within the project Smart Creation.
Smart Creation identifies a way of assembling and relating all the initiatives and tools that are capable of supporting and developing sustainable design, innovation and production. The key development results of Roica by Asahi Kasei partners will be exhibited at Prèmiere Vision. Maglifico Ripa , as a key partner of Roica, will be part of it with its key article Latino Americano made of Roica Eco Smart.
Along with Roica Clean Fit, Maglificio Ripa will present a range of recycled polyamide fabrics combined with the Roica Eco Smart stretch family for a fully clean product. On the high resolution side, the already successful project Deep by Maglificio Ripa, along with the Roica Color Perfect family, is still gaining position in favor of an elastomer which can be dyed and can also guarantee an excellent color depth.
Readymade garment exports from Tirupur dropped by 3.84 per cent in August. The threat of losing drawback to the tune of five or six per cent has prevented exporters from confirming orders. If the trend continues, India’s share in global readymade garment exports is expected to come down to 3.5 per cent this year and to three per cent next year.
There is also an apprehension that all benefits to exporters will cease from January 1 since the country has agreed to the WTO declaration that no incentive would be given to a country whose per capita income reaches 1,000 dollars for three consecutive years. The country has reached that status already.
The provision that does not allow the refund of accumulated input tax credit at the fabric stage (with five per cent GST at the fabric stage and its related job works) has had a huge impact on processed fabrics, especially cotton fabrics, as the dyes, chemicals, and ETP chemicals are expensive and attract 18 per cent GST. More than 80 per cent of textile manufacturing units are highly fragmented and predominantly undertake job work. The inverted duty is expected to have a major impact on the cost of production, inflation, and export competitiveness.
The Cotton Corporation of India has set up 59 centers in Telangana this year. These are an addition to the 84 centers already existing. The centers usually run for two or three days a week. Now they will be open on all working days. Reason: an estimated cotton produce of 2.81 million metric tons is expected to reach market yards in Telangana in 2017-18, from 1.86 million hectares of land sowed. In 2016-17, the area sowed was 1.24 million hectares, which yielded 2.47 million metric tons of produce.
There has been a 50 per cent increase in sowing. Cotton has been sown on 1.86 million hectares of land for the first time in the history of Telangana. A huge amount of produce is anticipated to come in from October. Although cotton enjoys a minimum support price, there are fears excess production might cause some unrest among farmers in case they do not get the price they are expecting. Earlier, in May, excess production caused a price crash. The minimum support price for cotton this year is Rs 4320 per quintal and was Rs 4,160 last year.
Farmers have gone in for cotton expecting higher returns. Telangana is taking every step to maintain transparency in minimum support price operations and also to mitigate problems if they are identified.
Mausmi Ambastha had seen at close quarters the amount of fabric being wasted every day as she has been associated with the garments industry for 12 years. Ambastha was quick to capitalise on the scope for boosting the fabrics industry by cutting wastage and saving on labour and time offered a promising business opportunity.
The startup provides enterprise material management technology to enable manufacturers to buy just the right amount of fabric and use that fabric with minimum wastage. The product has managed to cut down wastage to less than 1 per cent. This translates into savings of up to 10 per cent and millions of dollars for manufacturers, says Ambastha, Co-founder and COO.
It took some time to explain the viability of their product and how it could help companies save money and improve operational efficiency. At first, many apparel manufacturers were skeptical about the product, later they were willing to try. The company may have received a delayed response but it has never faced rejections, says Ambastha. Now Threadsol, which operates out of Bengaluru and Delhi, has a presence in 15 countries.
It’s more than 85-strong client list includes manufacturers of Zara, Adidas, Nike, Levi’s, Victoria’s Secret, JC Penny and Walmart. Indian client list has Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (formerly Pantaloons), Blackberry’s and Raymond, among others. Despite this impressive list, getting the garments industry to adopt technology is still a challenge for Threadsol.
The startup, which has drawn investments of more than Rs 20 crore from Blume Ventures and Narayna Murthy’s Catamaran Ventures, at one time struggled to stay afloat. Its staff strength across the globe has swelled to 130, and the startup has added several awards to its kitty: Microsoft Bizspark 2012, Grace Hopper Women Entrepreneur of the Year, 2013, Venture Engine 2014, Parivartan Award for sustainability, among others.
Textile Asia was held in Pakistan from September 16 to 18, 2017. The textile machinery fair aimed to increase productivity and enhance competitiveness. Textile Asia is a landmark event, which has provided an effective podium for joint ventures and collaborations among the local textile industry and international entrepreneurs, more than 50,000 trade and corporate visitors visited the fair during the three days, besides more than 600 foreign delegates.
Exhibiting countries included: China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Austria, Czech Republic, UK, and USA etc. Textile Asia is jointly organized by the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and E-Commerce Gateway Pakistan.
Pakistan is taking several concrete steps to increase the volume of overall exports. Changes will be made to the scope and coverage of the export package. Pakistan’s apparel exports grew by 5.55 per cent in 2016-17.
Value-added textile is being considered as a key priority area. Efforts are being made to set the right policies and incentives that encourage private sector investment in value addition. The apparel segment happens to be the highest value-added link in the entire textile value chain. Pakistani products do not get a proper market share due to high input costs.
The yarn sector, affected by high cotton prices in the past six months, might become normal within a fortnight. Demand for yarn in markets like Bhiwandi, Ichalkaranji and Kolkata has picked up with the requirement for fabric going up in view of the festival season. In addition, the unsold yarn stock with spinning mills is also low now. Because of the stable and lower cotton prices, India would have a competitive advantage in the international market also.
India is likely to get a record crop with a 15 per cent increase in area and a favorable monsoon and weather. Cotton prices would also be comparatively lower throughout the season and therefore the domestic demand is expected to pick up.
The Indian textile and clothing industry had been passing through continuous recession during the last three years mainly due to poor offtake in the global market. Competing nations like Vietnam and Bangladesh have competitive advantages through free trade agreements and preferential trade agreements. In addition high tariff rates have been imposed on Indian textile and clothing products in the the European Union, the US, Canada and China. The global cotton position is expected to be very comfortable during 2017-18 due to an increase in area under cultivation by around 11 per cent.
